Global Journal of Human Social Science, E: Economics, Volume 21 Issue 4

Which of these Economics Jargons - Underemployment, Overemployment, Unemployment, Rightemployment, Overqualification and Overeducation is Appropriate for an Economy? Past. Prof. Abomaye-Nimenibo, Williams Aminadokiari Samuel Abstract- In behavioural sciences such as Economics, Management, Psychology, and Sociology, one often finds various and divergent definitions of specific terms regarded as the jargon of that particular discipline. In economics, such clichés include and is not limited to Underemployment, Overe mployment, Rightemp loyment, Unemployment, Overqualification, or overeducatio n. We therefore define and discuss these terminologies for clarity, know, and understand what each of these terms means. We, therefore, set ourselves to succinctly carry out terminology study to have more in- depth knowledge. We discuss the aces and scams of these vocabularies. Among these five (5) terminologies, unemployment is the worse type that can visit a nation, and it is undesirable, bringing economic, social, and political vices in any society it is found. It has numerous consequences to a society where it is instituted. The high wave of crime, robbery among youths, etcetera has been the result of unemployment. However, we concluded and made relevant recommendations that right employment is the only answer to unemployment in Nigeria and elsewhere. I. I ntroduction n behavioural sciences such as Economics, Management, Psychology, and Sociology, one often finds various and divergent definitions of specific terms regarded as the jargon of that particular discipline. In an Economics education, such verbiages include and not limited to Underemployment, Overemployment, Rightemployment, Unemployment, Overqualification, or overeducation, and we need to know what these are. This article, therefore, tries to define and discuss these terms or jargon for clarity. It is essential for us in these fields of endeavour to know and understand what each of these terms means. We, therefore, set ourselves to succinctly carry out terminology study to have more in- depth knowledge. Hence, the essence of this study. a) Underemployment Underemployment is the under-graded level of employment of labour and the measure of his utilisation in the economy in terms of the employed labour's skills and experience and his/her availability to work. It also means the underutilisation of labour. Generally, unemployment means a state of joblessness. Briggs (1973) stated that unemployment is the variance between the sum of labour employed at current wage levels and his working conditions and the sum of labour not hired at the same levels. However, Gbosi (1997) has also defined unemployment as a situation in which people who are eager and capable of working at the prevailing wage rate cannot find jobs. Therefore, anybody who is unwilling and actively seeking paid employment should not be counted as part of the employed workforce, otherwise we may be overestimating the official rate of unemployment. On the other hand, additional workers should not be added as part of the unemployed labour force, and If we do so, we may be underestimating the official rale of unemployment. No matter how one defines unemployment, the underlying philosophy is that unemployment means a state of joblessness. Feldman (1996) stated that Underemployment is the under-use of a worker due to a job that does not require the worker's skills because it is part-time or leaves the worker idle. According to Chohan (2016 a & b), underemployment examples include holding a part-time job despite desiring full-time work and over- qualification. The employee has the education, experience, or skills beyond the requirements of the job. Economics, Management, Psychology, and Sociology have all extensively studied Underemployment from various perspectives. In Economics, we have three discrete meanings of Underemployment. However, all connotations boiled down to a situation in which a person is working, but not according to his desire or skill, which are underutilised. Again, it means a condition where the worker is in a redundancy situation, unlike unemployment, where a person searching for work cannot find one. Under- utilisation of labour is evident in all meanings, which most officials (governmental agencies) miss in their definitions and unemployment measurements. In 2014, O'Brian carried out an investigation in which he found that university graduates from the US were often unable to find jobs requiring a degree; and I Volume XXI Issue IV Version I 53 ( E ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2021 © 2021 Global Journals Author: Ph.D, M.Sc., B.Sc. Economics, and UD, Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Director of Post Graduate Studies, School of Post Graduate Studies, Obong University, Obong Ntak, Etim Ekpo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, & Faculty Member, School of Business, Charisma University, Nigeria. e-mails: wasanim2006@yahoo.com, abomaye.nimenibo@charisma.edu.eu